A Cuban pilot landed a small Russian-made plane at a South Florida airport Friday, officials said.
Miami International Airport officials said the single engine Antonov An-2 plane landed at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport around 11:30 a.m.
The airport is off Tamiami Trail in the middle of the Florida Everglades.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
The pilot, identified by family members as Ruben Martinez, said he'd flown from Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, officials said.
Martinez took a selfie with the plane after landing it. Friends told NBC 6 that he uses the plane for work and it's mainly used for fumigation.
Martinez was later taken in for questioning.
Local
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials only identified the pilot as a 29-year-old man and that they're investigating his journey from Cuba to the U.S.
For months, Cubans have been fleeing the island in massive numbers, mainly by boat, frustrated by shortages of food and medicine and constant power outages.
Martinez's mother said she had no idea her son had plans to leave Cuba so suddenly but is glad he's OK. Authorities came to her house when the news broke, but she wasn't detained.
"Those are decisions he made," she said. "I do not agree with them. I am from this country, I am an old lady set in my ways, but the youth make their own decisions and follow their path."
No other information was immediately known.
Check back with NBC 6 for updates.
